"The battle in St. Paul City has begun." Shen Xin felt a little uneasy when he saw Qi Rui's telegram. Perhaps it was because of this thought that Shen Xin also sensed Qi Rui's uneasiness from the telegram.
During the Civil War more than 20 years ago, China sold a large number of "liberation shoes" to the United States, which could be considered as having a foot in it. Since then, China had also been collecting intelligence on the United States. The essence of the country was on the east coast near the Atlantic Ocean, and the Mississippi River was the west in the eyes of the Americans. The west coast near the Pacific Ocean that the Liberation Army had conquered in the past few months was the "far west" of the United States.
The difficulty of conquering cities in the far west was limited. There was no decent industry there, and there were no special traditions. Most of the people with the "I am a part of the United States" concept were on the east coast, and the state of Minnesota, which was now under attack, was also considered an area with a relatively high level of recognition. Therefore, as long as some of the people on the west coast were taken care of, the rest would be a situation where a large number of people would surrender. However, before the war, the North American theater of operations did not have the optimism to encounter the same situation in Minnesota.
"When can the troops heading south break through the UA's defense line and reach St. Paul?" Shen Xin asked the chief of staff.
The chief of staff's face was full of excitement. The speed of the motorized infantry's attack was indeed very satisfactory. Didn't they run hundreds of kilometers in two days to reach St. Paul City? If the elites of the Liberation Army carried out a forced march and advanced lightly, it might not be impossible to achieve this goal. The theater headquarters was confident enough in the military training of the Liberation Army.
What made everyone satisfied with the motorized infantry was that they could run hundreds of kilometers in two days with equipment similar to that of a standard infantry division and carry out a siege. Compared with ordinary infantry divisions and infantry troops, the motorized troops were "relatively lightly equipped." The infantry was already equipped with 150, 180, and 200mm heavy artillery, which had an overwhelming advantage over the current North American defense system. Any kind of fortification would be destroyed when hit head-on by a 200mm heavy artillery.
In contrast, the largest artillery carried by the motorized infantry was only 105mm. The 75mm artillery was the main artillery force of the Liberation Army. This thing was effective against field targets and wooden houses, but it was useless against reinforced concrete. More importantly, infantry divisions and infantry armies could set up transport depots, and it would be easier to supply heavy artillery shells.
The motorized infantry couldn't carry too many artillery shells. They were like a sharp knife that pierced through the enemy's line of defense. Before the follow-up troops could catch up, these people could only rely on their own weapons and ammunition to fight independently.
"It will take at least five days for the infantry to break through the American defense line and reach St. Paul." The Chief of Staff gave an answer that he did not think was conservative.
Shen Xin was also an old soldier. He did not believe it. "Can it be completed in five days?"
The chief of staff wasn't very optimistic either. He shook his head slightly. "We don't have enough troops. There were only 900,000 regular troops in North America. Including the militia that had been hastily gathered, there were less than 1.2 million of them. When will the reinforcements from the country arrive? This is a problem. "
The population of the United States is between 50 and 60 million. Currently, the number of troops that could be sent to the frontline was about 600,000. In a sense, the Chinese army really needed to fight a hundred people alone. Since the number of troops on the frontline was limited, the number of reinforcements couldn't be sent. The battle wasn't just in St. Paul. There was an entire front that needed to be maintained.
China's regular army totaled about two million, which was already a sensational number for the industrial powers on the planet. However, it would be quite difficult to launch a war to destroy a country while maintaining the security of such a huge territory. The North American region of China was the easternmost part of China. From the perspective of China's territory, the straight-line distance between the two regions and the westernmost province of Madagascar in China was no longer ten thousand miles, but a hundred thousand miles. The closest distance between the two sides was probably a straight line from Madagascar to the eastern United States.
"It would be great if the Navy could have a base in Europe." It was rare for the Chief of Staff to say something he couldn't control.
Shen Xin could also feel some kind of uneasiness from this. From a military point of view, there was nothing wrong with this view. If there was a Chinese Navy base in Europe, the powerful Navy of the Liberation Army could cross the Atlantic Ocean and attack the East Coast of the United States. China had a vast territory, and the United States was not a small country. Once it was attacked from the sea, the United States would have to transfer a large number of troops to maintain the security of the East Coast. The population of the United States was only 50 to 60 million. Once it was engaged in a two-front war, the Americans would also fall into an extreme shortage of troops.
However, this kind of thinking, which had no problems from a military point of view, was also a fantasy. Not to mention the matter of having a naval base in Europe. In southern Africa, which was in a state of gunpowder, China had a number of bases in Madagascar, and the British were in a situation of a laborious expedition. However, once they entered the North Atlantic to fight, before the China Grand Fleet could fight on the East Coast of the United States, they would first have to face the British Grand Fleet.
Without waiting for the Chief of Staff to say anything, Shen Xin rushed to say, "At the moment, the commander-in-chief is not ready to carry out a general mobilization. We will fight with the troops at hand first."
"Our proposal to apply for a general mobilization has been submitted for several months. Why is the commander-in-chief still not willing to agree?" The Chief of Staff could not help but complain about Vézé. The tradition of the Liberation Army had always been to fight with the many and to bully the few. Now, in the face of the United States, the Military Governor Of Vaize had given up the traditional strategic preparation, which was a little puzzling.
"We have to have confidence in ourselves." Shen Xin looked very confident about the war. At least, he did not let the Chief of Staff see any lack of confidence in him. This was something that could not be helped. If he complained to Vézé first, the entire North American theater of operations would probably be shaken. If they encountered a setback, it would be even more difficult to suppress the situation.
Of course, Shen Xin also suspected this problem. With the current strength of the Min dynasty, it was not a problem to mobilize seven or eight million troops. These seven or eight million troops did not need to be sent to North America. As long as five or six million troops were sent, it was not impossible for China to fight against ten and win a complete victory. From a purely military point of view, the silence of the Military Governor Of Vaize did not seem very reasonable.
Six hundred thousand troops fighting on the front line might not necessarily fail, but the pressure would be too great. In terms of weapons, a large number of Asian troops were shipped to North America. But in terms of military strength, the only thing the Military Governor Of Vaize sent was 200,000 Japanese. It was said that in the future, 200,000 Koreans might also be sent over, but there had been no official movement in terms of military strength.
Thinking of this, Shen Xin finally made up his mind. "Send a message to the commander-in-chief. The battle of St. Paul has begun."
As the Chief of Staff of the 24th Division, Qi Rui was fighting on the front line. Whether it was to make the Military Governor Of Vaize feel at ease or to subtly remind the commander-in-chief, this was a more suitable method.
Vézé quickly received the telegram. He was also well aware of Shen Xin's little tricks. Putting down the telegram, Vézé lit a cigarette. Some things couldn't be helped. It wasn't easy for Vézé to let his old brothers retire and gradually weaken their influence in the military and the government. If there was a general mobilization, the development of the situation would immediately exceed Vézé's original plan.
Building an army wasn't just about pulling out a few million troops. These troops needed a large number of officers, and the source of these officers was a problem. It wasn't impossible to support an army alone, but in the Liberation Army's system, most of the soldiers would enter the government and enterprises after they became professionals. This wasn't just about the army, but also about the personnel problems of a government department in the next ten to twenty years. Facing such a situation, they definitely couldn't be relaxed.
As for his son, Vézé was naturally very worried. But since Qi Rui was willing to fight for Vézé's successor, he had to work hard for this goal. Hundreds of millions of people died in the civil war in China, and the current Min dynasty was built on a sea of blood. Some things, no matter how cruel, had to be crossed.
Moreover, Qi Rui wasn't the only one fighting on the frontlines. Many of the children of famous figures from the past were also fighting on the frontlines. This didn't make any difference to anyone.
Captain Shi Qian didn't know what the upper echelons were thinking. Even as the youngest son of the famous figure Shi Dakai during the civil war in China, he was only a soldier on the battlefield. He calmly took the rifle, slightly tilted his head, and glanced at the window of the opposite house from the corner of the street. At the same time, he shouted to the back, "Bullets."
The opposite house was a common wooden house in the Western United States. It seemed that the owner of this house was relatively rich. They didn't directly use the wood that was cut out on both sides and lined up in a row to build the wall. The outside side was also cut and nailed with a layer of wood. The wood was also painted with the white paint commonly seen in the United States.
Retracting his head, the captain glanced at the bullets the soldier handed him.
"Give me the blank bullets." Shi Qian calmly said to the soldier who was still a bit nervous. The soldier immediately understood and hurriedly rummaged through the bullet belt. Shi Qian wasn't in a hurry. He leaned against the hidden wall of the wooden house and took out a metal cigarette box from his left chest pocket. He took one out and lit it for himself. This was a cigarette box made of stainless steel. The surface wasn't smooth, but there were undulating lines. It didn't look eye-catching, and even after using it for a few years, no external changes could be seen. Since the appearance was originally uneven, the small marks caused by friction and collision wouldn't attract attention at all.
The captain smoked half of the cigarette, and the soldier finally found the blank bullets and handed it to Shi Qian. Shi Qian took the remaining half of the cigarette and asked the soldier, "Do you want to smoke?"
The soldier was stunned at first, then he took the cigarette and leaned against the wooden wall to take two deep puffs. The battle had been going on for almost four hours, and there was almost no pause during the entire time.
When his subordinates were temporarily relaxed, Captain Shi Qian loaded the blank bullets, took out a rifle grenade from the bullet belt, and installed it on the muzzle of the rifle. Turning around the corner again, Shi Qian raised the rifle with a very standard shooting posture and aimed at the window.
At this time, there were Americans who began to shoot at Shi Qian from the window across the street. Shi Qian didn't move at all and let the bullets fly past him. After aiming at the window, he stabilized it for two seconds to make sure that his arm didn't tremble, and then he pulled the trigger.
The gunpowder pushed the rifle grenade out, and it sprayed out thick smoke. In the blink of an eye, it flew more than twenty meters away and directly hit the wooden wall. Because there were metal spikes on the bullet, although it didn't accurately fly into the window, it was nailed to the wooden board next to the window.
Shi Qian didn't see this. After firing, he flashed back to the enemy's shooting angle. This series of smooth movements made the soldier behind him completely dumbfounded. The company commander ignored the enemy's shooting and calmly completed the smooth movement of shooting. This was the representation of courage and decisiveness.
At this time, a loud bang was heard. Smoke and dust flew everywhere on the street, and debris flew everywhere. After the explosion dissipated, Shi Qian still calmly said, "Give me another bullet."
Hearing this calm voice and seeing the company commander's nonchalant attitude, the soldier only felt that all of his fear had flown away. He threw the cigarette butt to the ground and said loudly, "Company commander, let me do it this time."
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